Several types of fabric have a tendency to “pill” on the exterior surface of the fabric. For example, fabrics made of wool, silk, nylon, etc., will produce piles or pillies after wear or use. These piles typically are not aesthetically pleasing and can cause an apparent problem to the owner of the fabric. This is especially true in clothing and the owner/wearer of the clothing. Numerous attempts of prior art have been made to try to design a device that removes these pills, or entangled fiber strands from the surface of the fabrics.
Most of the prior art has been directed at clippers, adhesives, or a straight-type razor blade. The straight-type razor blade has simply cut the pilling as it would cut the hairs on the skin. This has issues with too much pressure can cut portions of the fabric and ruin the fabric.
The adhesive devices typically have a sheet, or roller form. A user would press the sheet or roll the circular adhesive across the surface picking up the piled pieces. Drawbacks to this include potential additional damage to the fabric by causing additional pilling of the fabric and insufficient removal of the pills already there.
The handheld clipping devices typically have a battery powered or electrical powered motor that rotates spinning blades about an axis. A cover is usually placed over the blades to protect the fabric and user from the spinning blades. These devices have drawbacks in their effectiveness to actually reach and cut the pills as well as the amount of pilling left due to the lack of access by the spinning blades to the fabric surface by the cover used in these devices.
Examples of these prior arts can be found in the following patents and published patent applications: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,899,442; 4,985,999; 5,575,031; 6,941,662; 7,647,699; 2011\0308035; U.S. Publication No. 2012\0263911; U.S. Design Pat. D319,564; D321,115; D495,831; D620,643; D654,220; D678,611.
Some of the rotary head devices also have a problem of collection of the cut piles and their proximity to the rotating elements of the devices. This can clog the devices and reduce effectiveness and can lead to malfunctioning of the device.
What is needed is a new device for the removal of piled material from fabric. Preferably this improved device allows for a controlled removal of the piled material from the fabric while protecting the remainder of the fabric from damage. This needed device is lacking in the art.